A state appeals court has upheld the guilty verdicts and 14-year prison sentence handed to former St. John the Baptist Parish Judge Elzey “Jeff” Perilloux over allegations that he fondled his teenage daughters’ friends.
A unanimous 3-member panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeal rejected each of Perilloux’s claims, which included allegations of misconduct by jurors, prosecutors and the judge who presided over his trial three years ago in Edgard.
Perilloux, 56, also claimed that the sentence he received from Dennis Waldron, a retired Orleans Parish Criminal District Court judge, was excessive.
The appeals court leaned on Waldron’s elaborate explanation when he handed Perilloux three consecutive 4½-year prison terms on three guilty verdicts for indecent behavior with a juvenile. Waldron tacked on six months after convicting Perilloux on an additional count of misdemeanor sexual battery.
Waldron “explained that the evidence revealed that defendant began to take certain liberties with the young victims, namely, slapping their rear-ends, applying sunscreen, and giving massages, sometimes clad only in boxer shorts,” 5th Circuit Judge Scott Schlegel wrote.
“These actions and behaviors were evidence of the most unusual relationship defendant sought to cultivate with the victims over an extended period of time that included his campaign for judge and his service on the bench," the ruling said. "The trial court believed that defendant’s methodical process was a classic, textbook example of grooming."
Judges Fredericka Homberg Wicker and Stephen Windhorst joined in the denial of Perilloux's appeal.
Allegations of juror misconduct were first raised during Perilloux’s trial, after he claimed to receive two anonymous notes, including one that alleged a “manipulator” on the jury.
But the appeals court cited conflicting accounts in rejecting those allegations, which included a claim that one juror, who has since died, broadcast her opinion of the judge's guilt.
Those allegations “do not constitute legitimate claims of juror misconduct warranting a new trial," the appeals court found.
James Boren, one of Perilloux’s appeal attorneys, said he and co-counsel Carol Kolinchak are preparing an appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court.
"We strongly believe that there are many innocent, unfairly convicted people in Louisiana, and now Judge Perilloux is one of them," Boren said, "And we are committed to seeing his vindication.”
Perilloux’s accusers testified that he touched them inappropriately in various situations. One said the judge held his hand over her breast during a back massage. All of the incidents for which he was convicted took place at Perilloux's home in LaPlace in 2017, his first year on the bench.
An alleged incident the same year in Florida involving one of the same accusers sparked a Louisiana State Police investigation into further incidents at the judge's home.
The ruling comes four months after Perilloux saw a brief reprieve from his time in prison. He was released on bond and an ankle monitor in August pending his appeal, but Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office challenged that decision, and the Louisiana Supreme Court revoked it in September.
Perilloux resigned his post following his conviction. He'd been paid while under suspension at the time and qualified that year to run again for his seat.
He is currently imprisoned at David Wade Correctional Center in Homer, online records show.
